
THE WAKEFIELD COMPANY 

142 Wakefield Avenue 
BUFFALO, N. Y. 



MONEY IN GOATS 



BY W. SHELDON BULL 








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(FROM THE ILLUSTRATED BITFFALO EXPRESS) 



PRICE 25 CENTS 



BUFFALO, N. Y. 



THE WAKEFIELD CO. 



142 WAKEFIELD AVENUE 



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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. 



In the preparation of the following pages use has been made 
to some extent of material previously published in the following- 
magazine articles: "Nanny, The Poor Man's Cow" in "Country 
Life in America," May, 1907; "Our Back-Yard Dairy" in "Good 
Housekeeping," April, 1908; "One Family's Solution of the Milk 
Problem" in "Suburban Life," October, 1909; and "Our Piano- 
Box Milking-Shed" in the Christmas number of "Country Life 
in America," for 1909. Acknowledgement is gratefully made to 
the editors of the above mentioned magazines for their courtesy 
in placing this matter again at my disposal. 

This material, however, has been largely revised and re- 
written, and much new matter added, in an endeavor to present 
the case of the goat from a commercial point of view, and in quite 
a different manner from that in which "Nanny" is generally put 

before the public. 

W. SHELDON BULL. 



Copyright, 191 1. 
By W. SHELDON BULL. 



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MONEY IN GOATS 



"The relations of the o'oat to mankind/' says Shaler in 
"Domesticated Animals," "are in certain ways peculiar. The 
creature has long been subjugated, probably having come into 
the human family before the dawn of history. It readily cleaves 
to the household and exhibits much more intelligence than the 
otiier members of our flocks and herds. It yields good milk, the 
llesh is edible, though in the old animals not savory, and tne 
hair can be u^ade to vary in a larger measure than any of our 
animals which are shorn. Yet this creature has never obtained 
die place in relation to man to which it seems entitled." 

The lack of appreciation of the economic value of the Goat, 
in this country, is doubtless due in great measure to the fact 
that, with the exception of the Angora Goat, the commercial 
possibilities of the animal are not yet sufficiently understood. 

"Asia Minor is the home of the Angora, and the rearing of 
the animals there Has been carried on for an unknown number 
of generations. In South Africa and in the United States it 
is of comparative modern development. British manufacturers 
finding the supply of Turkish mohair insufficient for trade 
requirements, secured the introduction of Angoras into South 
Africa, and now the supply of mohair is double the output of 
Asia Minor." — From the "Textile American," April, 1905. 

While the Angora Goat has been bred in this country for 
over fifty years, it is only within a comparatively recent period 
that this animal has been utilized to any great extent. Dr. James 
B. Davis, of South Carolina, is credited with having been the first 
to introduce the Angora into the United States. This importa- 
tion, made in 1849, nas been augmented by breeding and by a 
number of subsequent importations by different individuals, so 
that today there are a large number in this country, to be found 
in almost every state in the Union, but principally in the west 
and southwest. 

The chief value of the Angora consists in its fleece which, 
commercially known as Mohair, is largely used in the making 
of various fabrics. The production of Mohair in this country 
was small for many years, but it has recently developed into an 
important industry. 

The Angora is also valuable as a brushwood destroyer, its 
flesh is palatable and nutritious, and occasionally an excellent 
milker is found among them. 



While goats have been utilized as brushwood destroyers to 
a certain extent in various sections of our country, their full 
value for this purpose has not been generally recognized. There 















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A SAANEN GOAT BROWSING ON THE HILLSIDE. 

are millions of acres of unproductive land in the United States, 
which by the use of the goat might be cleared most economically, 
and thus made productive. 

Regarding this, W. A. Heather writes as- follows: "There 
is an immense amount of waste land, not only in the West, but 
all through the South and East, that is especially adapted to the 
raising of Angora goats, and so far as the human mind can see 
at the present time, is absolutely useless for any other purpose; 
these lands have been lying idle and useless for untold ages 
begging to be put to some use that would be of benefit to the 
human family and less of a reproach to the intelligence of the 
American people. These lands if properly used for this purpose, 
would in the course of time, yield untold wealth to the owners 
and be a source of immense revenue to the government." 

"It might be just as well for Uncle Sam to take a little 
interest in and have a word to say about a proposition that is 
loaded with such immense future possibilities as the Angora 
goat industry of the United States is. Our preachers and lawyers 
and doctors and statesmen and educators have for years been 



preaching the doctrine of first principles and getting back to the 
land to the end that our future generations may not be compelled 
to swelter and live and die in the pestilential slums of our great 
cities, and at the same time in the humble Angora goat they 
have neglected an argument that would perhaps induce more 
people to leave the congested city than any other that they could 
possibly advance, the opportunity that the Angora goat affords 
to those desirous of leaving the crowded city and engaging in 
pastoral pursuits is almost unlimited, there are untold millions 
of acres of waste lands and abandoned farms in these United 
States, the value of which is unknown to the people of the great 
cities, and which could be quickly and cheaply converted into 
prosperous and thriving Angora goat ranches that would yield 
an easy living to the owner and a competence and interest in 
life to his children and grandchildren. There is no class of live 
stock that is more domestic or easily handled or that shows more 
response to kind treatment from his master than the Angora 
goat, he is inoffensive and gentle to a degree that is seldom 
attained by any other kind of stock." 

"It seems to me that there is a crying need that our Bureau 
of Animal Industry issue a new bulletin of complete and accurate 
information on this subject and give it a wide distribution, and 
that our national law makers are furnished with some infor- 
mation from first hands that will enable them to know just what 
the needs of the industry are, and this they can get from neither 
the foreigner or manufacturer ; he does not know, and if he did 
he would not tell." — From the "Shepherd's Journal, June, 191 1. 

Black, in his "New Industry," also says: "The brush ques- 
tion is a most serious one in many of our states. As long as the 
land can be kept under cultivation brush can be kept down, but 
when it is once thrown open to pasture, briars and brush of all 
description begin to grow, and soon cover the entire surface." 

"The goat is the best land grubber on earth. He will not 
only destroy the brush, but will enrich and trample the soil more 
thoroughly than any other anima! can possibly do, which is so 
essential in producing a fine stand of blue grass ; and he will 
thoroughly remove all noxious weeds as well." 

"Common goats will answer the purpose we need them for, 
even better than the Angora, from the fact that they are stronger 
bodied, and are not burdened with long hair, which is often torn 
out on the brush when feeding." 

The term "Common Goat" is generally applied to all goats 
not belonging to either the Angora or the Milch breads. They 
consist principally of nondescript animals, of all sorts, sizes and 
colors, a considerable percentage having long hair. The long- 
haired common goats, however, are suitable neither for the 
production of skins, nor as foundation stock for grade Angoras. 

The Native or Common goat, as vet, plays but an infinitese- 
mal part as a factor in the animal industries of this country. 



But while comparatively few goats are kept in the United States, 
and but scant attention is paid to these useful little animals, in 
the East, in Asia, especially, and in some parts of Africa, goats 
have from time immemorial, constituted an important part of 
the flock, and have been a source of wealth to the people. In 
Europe, also, the goat has been quite generally appreciated as 
one of the valuable domestic animals. 

However, when it becomes more widely understood that we 
are. sending abroad from twenty to thirty millions of dollars 
annually for goat-skins, because practically none are produced 
by us; notwithstanding that the natural conditions, in this broad 
land of ours, are favorable for raising goats, which produce just 
such skins as we import ; is it unreasonable to look forward to 
such a growth of the industry, in this country, as will supply our 
home market with at least a portion of the millions of goat- 
skins used year by year? 

While practically all of the goat-skins entering into the 
commerce and manufacture of this country are imported, the 
extent and value of these importations, as shown by the following 
table, are not generally known nor appreciated. 

Imports of Goat-Skins. 
Fiscal Quantity, Value, 

years Pounds Dollars 

1906 1 10,716,107 $ 31,704,981 

1907 98,085,209 31,718,981 

1908 63,600,189 17,316,963 

1909 103,390,342 25,862,671 

1910 115,555,025 30,801,304 

Total 491,346,872 $137,404,900 

These foreign goat-skins were brought into this country 
free of duty, doubtless owing to the great demand for them, and 
to the fact that they do not come into competition with a 
domestic industry of sufficient importance to be deemed worthy 
of the consideration of Congress. 

The Milch Goat also has apparently not been considered 
seriously as worthy of a place among our animal industries. 
This may be largely owing to the fact that our native goats have 
been aimlessly and carelessly bred, and without sufficient regard 
to the production of milk. They are consequently ill-suited for 
dairy purposes. The nondescript and undersized little "Nanny- 
goats" with small udders, often seen tethered or running loose 
on the commons or vacant lots in our towns and cities, give, as 
a rule, but little milk and produce inferior offspring. Unfor- 
tunately, it is from such mongrel animals that an estimate of 
the whole species is generally formed. 

In Switzerland, however, a process of careful selection and 
breeding, carried on through many centuries, has produced Milch 

6 



goats that are probably the most efficient milk-producing crea- 
tures, for their size, in existence. The best known of these 
breeds in this country are the Saanen, a hornless, short-haired 
white or cream-colored goat; and the Toggenburg, a hornless, 
short-haired, fawn-colored goat, peculiarly marked with a white 
line down each side of the face. The legs are also covered up 
to the knees with white hair. Both of these breeds, which are 
much larger than our common goats, have a deer-like shape and 
carriage, and are like Jersey cattle, in that they are somewhat 
lean and bony, and seem to throw all the strength of their con- 
stitutions into the production of milk. 




BABETTE, AN IMPORTED SAANEN MILCH GOAT. 



In England, also, under the fostering care of the British Goat 
Society, Milch goat breeding has been entered upon as syste- 
matically as any other branch of stock raising, the same strict- 
ness in regard to registry being required. 

At various periods in the past, specimens of foreign breeds 
of Milch goats were brought to the United States, some of them 
possibly even before the Davis importation of Angoras in 1849. 
Dr. John Bachman, the naturalist, in a report made to the 
Southern Central Agricultural Association, regarding the Davis 



Angoras, which was published in 1857, speaks of: "The several 
large breeds, such as the Scind, the Maltese and the Swiss goats, 
which were from time to time introduced as milking animals 
into this country." 

In 1863, Israel S. Diehl wrote concerning an "Assyrian" goat 
in the possession of General J. S. Gee, at Brownsville, Pa., that 
gave a gallon of milk per day after the weaning of its kid. Diehl 
also mentioned having in his own possession at that time a 
similar goat, together with some Maltese and Cachmere grades, 
and further said that "among the most valuable milkers we have 
the Maltese, the Swiss, the Assyrian, the Syrian, the Scinde, the 
Spanish and the Welsh goats." 

Unfortunately there was no apparent effort made to keep 
the blood of these breeds pure. Dr. Bachman, indeed, said 
regarding the imported Milch goats, mentioned in his report 
referred to above, that they "were after a period neglected." 

In more recent years, in 1893, and notably in 1904, 1905 and 
1906, importations of Saanens, Toggenburgs, and Schwartzen- 
burg-Guggisbergers were made. These goats or their decendents, 
together with others since imported, are now in the possession of 
breeders and fanciers, located in widely separated sections of 
the country, who, in the majority of cases, have gone into the 
industry, or fancy, on a small scale. The importance of every 
possible effort being made to keep the blood of these breeds pure, 
can scarcely be overestimated, nor too strenuously dwelt upon, 
when one takes into consideration how great will be the benefit 
resulting therefrom, not only to the individual breeder, but for 
the advancement in this country of the industry in general. 

With reference to improving our native goats, Diehl said : 
"Here, as in all departments of stock breeding, no doubt great 
improvements can be made, since goats possess all the charac- 
teristics of other domestic animals. A variety of goats exist 
throughout our own country, collected from various countries oi 
Europe and portions of Asia and Africa, from which the improved 
individuals may be selected and bred from." 

Both the Saanen and the Toggenburg breeds are well 
adapted to our climate. They breed true to type and have a 
remarkable power of transmitting their characteristics to their 
offspring (many half-breed animals showing all of the distin- 
guishing peculiarities of the race), they are therefore particularly 
valuable for the purpose of improving our native stock. By 
crossing the males of these large-sized, short-haired, deep-milking 
breeds with short-haired Common does, selected for their milking 
qualities, and for size and constitution, native breeds of large, 
hardy goats might in a comparatively short period of time be 
established. These would prove commercially valuable when 
used either for dairying, for the production of skins, for destroy 
ing brushwood, or as foundation stock for breeding grade 
Angoras, instead of the Mexican goat. The fact that the market 



for goat meat is constantly increasing should also be borne in 
mind whenever the commercial value of the animal is under 
consideration. 

With reference to breeding grade Angoras, Black says: "I 
knew that it would be impossible to find enough graded goats to 
meet the demand that was springing up all over the country, and 
I realized if the farmers of the United States expected to engage 
in the Angora goat industry they would have to begin at the 
bottom as we all had done, and grade up the smooth-haired 
goat. We have an abundance of full-blooded males to stock the 
entire country, but the Mexican female must be used as a 
foundation, if we expect to build up the industry in any reason- 
able time. This was the course pursued in South Africa, except 
that they used the Boer goat instead of the Mexican which is 
practically the same class of stock, strong and vigorous, with 
smooth hair ; and it was followed in Turkey, to a large extent, 
as soon as the demand for Mohair exceeded the annual supply, 
which took place between i860 and 1870." 



INTERIOR ARRANGEMENT GOAT BARN (Copied from Johannes Schneider) 

"There is very little doubt but that there would be quite a 
demand for Milch goats if farmers in the neighborhood of our 
large towns and cities were prepared to furnish them. It often 
occurs that an infant is left without a mother to nourish it, and 
in such cases, almost any sum would be paid for a goat rather 
than resort to the risk attending the use of the dairyman's stuff. 

"I feel sure that this branch of the industry may be made to 
yield very profitable returns, and in grading up a lot of common 
o-oats, a "very good market can be found for the old does, aftel 
they have been used to propagate the Angora." 

9 



As it has been proved beyond refutation that human infants 
deprived of their mother's milk, thrive upon goat's milk better 
than upon that of any other animal, the importance of Milch goat 
dairying cannot fail to appeal, not only to parents of young 
children, but to' physicians and to all others who have the future 
wellfare of our country at heart ; for as Dr. William Ewart says, 
"good milk for infants is a national concern, since deterioration 
of the race and depopulation by infant mortality and by tuber- 
culosis are mainly milk questions." — From "The Lancet," Lon- 
don, December 12, 1906. 

"One of the smallest babies ever seen in St. Mary's hospital 
was borne there yesterday * * The doctors have prescribed 
as the infant's food modified goaf's milk." 

"The foregoing represents a news item excerpted from a 
New England paper of recent date. It commanded my attention 
and interest strongly at the time of first reading, not by reason 
of the tininess of the baby," says Professor T. R. Arkell, of the 
New Hampshire Experiment Station, "but by the fact that some 
doctors at least considered it advisable to rear infants on goat's 
milk. This decision of the doctors must have been arrived at 
after a deliberate and careful examination of the quality of goat's 
milk. No medical doctor in reputable standing can afford to be 
hasty in his conclusions, especially if the substance of those con- 
clusions is given unreservedly to the public. The public is a 
hard arbiter and yet a fair one. Its vagaries and mistakes are 
few. The claims of anything whatever must be well founded and 
meritorious before it receives even the faintest approval of a 
majority of the people." 

"Undoubtedly the public is beginning to recognize the great 
food value and freedom from tubercular disease of goat's milk. 
Wholesome, sanitary milk is the present cry. Wealthy consumers 
will pay almost any price, where they can be assured they are 
obtaining clean milk. The fact that bovine tuberculosis is com' 
municable to man and that milk is one of the most effective 
vehicles for the growth and transmission of the tubercle bacillus 
is making people cautious of the milk they drink. They demand 
clean milk from healthy animals. To meet this demand certified 
milk was placed on the market and it possesses a wide sale at a 
high price. Goat's milk should be sold at equally as great a price, 
if not generally greater, as certified milk from the cow, 
providing anything like reasonable methods of cleanliness anent 
housing and milking are adopted, for tuberculosis in the goat is 
exceedingly rare and tubercular lesions, even when found, always 
slight. This fact in itself, when the public distinctly recognizes 
and appreciates it, should render the sale of goat's milk com- 
paratively easy." 

"Recently I visited a lady who had just purchased an Ameri- 
can goat, but after using the milk several times stated it had such 

10 



a horrid flavor and odor that no one would drink it. Little 
wonder, too! The goat was kept in an unused hog barn, where 
conditions were filthy and the goat, being dirty and unkempt, 
possessed not only its own natural odor in its strongest and most 
disagreeable form, but that of the former inmate of the enclosure 
as well — the hog. Within a few hours I had corrected these 
conditions by thoroughly washing the goat and placing it in a 
clean pen. The milk that night the lady declared delicious. 
Goat's milk, it is true, has a somewhat characteristic aroma and 
flavor, but it is by no means pronounced and can scarcely ever be 
distinguished from cow's except by the extra sweetness and 
creaminess, where strict cleanliness is observed. In fact, any 
person who has once drunk clean goat's milk cannot help but 
grow fond of it. It is highly nutritious and is richer in butter 
fat than cow's milk." — From the "Shepherd's Journal," July, 191 1. 



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ON THE MILKING-PLATFORM, FEEDING AND READY TO BE MILKED. 



The neglect in using the Milch goat for dairy purposes in 
this country is due, to a considerable extent perhaps, to prejudice 
arising from the ridicule of which the little animal is so frequently 
the undeserved victim. But more largely owing to the fact that 
the advantages of goat-dairying, both from a hygienic and com- 
mercial point of view, are but imperfectly understood. 

II 



In this connection Spargo, in "The Common Sense of the 
Milk Question," says : "The neglect of the goat as a milch 
animal, especially as a provider of milk for infants, is very much 
to be deplored. The animal seems to be altogether well fitted 
to be the wet nurse of the human infant, much more so than the 
cow, and it is a great pity that ignorance concerning its habits 
and qualities should stand in the way of its more general employ- 
ment. That an extensive use of its milk in place of that of the 
cow would lead to a considerable reduction in the enormous 
mortality from the various forms of tuberculosis which afflict 
infants is highly probable, indeed, practically certain. It is to 
be hoped that the Department of Agriculture at Washingfton, 
and the several state bureaus, will see fit to make known the 
truth concerning the much maligned goat, and to encourage its 
breeding and use for milch purposes." 

"There are several reasons why goat's milk is superior to 
cow's milk as a substitute for breast milk in infant feeding. In 
the first place, while the cow is particularly subject to a specially 
virulent form of tuberculosis, which dread disease it is capable 
of acquiring from man, and of transmitting to man in its milk, 
through the infection of the digestive tract, the goat is practically 
immune from the disease." 

The following table, compiled by the writer, from statistics 
found in the Annual Reports of the Bureau of Animal Industry, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, gives the number of Goats 
inspected at the time of slaughter by the Federal meat-inspection 
service, together with the number passed for food, and also the 
number condemned, under the law of June 30, 1906: 

Post-mortem inspections, fiscal years 1907 to 1910. 

Condemned 
Fiscal Kind of Total Passed Con- for Tuber- 
year animals inspected for food demned culosis 

1907 Goats .... 52,149 52,106 43 

1908 Goats 45,953 45,920 33 

1909 Goats .... 69,193 69,111 82 

1910 Goats .... 115,811 JI 5,585 226 



Total 283,106 282,722 384 

These goats were slaughtered in a number of different places^ 
scattered throughout the country, and came from all sections of 
the United States, but mostly from the West and Southwest. 

The fact that not even one tubercular goat was found, while 
only 384 were condemned out of a total of 283,106 inspected in 
four years, speaks volumes in proof of the general healthfulness 
of the animal, and furnishes an indisputable confirmation of the 
claim that the goat is immune to tuberculosis, n 

Additional evidence, however, might easily be given, for it 

12 



is true, as Spargo asserts that, v 'the testimony upon this point is 
overwhelming." The same author also declares that "if there 
were no other advantage in goat's milk, this immunity from the 
disease which scourges mankind ought to make it popular, pro- 
viding that its milk proved equally as nutritious and digestible 
as cow's milk. If we were choosing a foster-mother or wet nurse 
for an infant, and there were two candidates apparently equally 
desirable in all other respects save this one, both being plentifully 
supplied with good milk, but one of them the victim of an active 
and malignant disease, is there any intelligent being who doubts 
what the choice would be? Yet, in the case of choosing an animal 
to be virtually the wet-nurse of the nation, we have chosen the 
one infected with disease, and are constantly passing on" the 
infection to the little ones." 

Is goat's milk as "nutritious and digestible as cow's milk"? 
In regard to this, Dr. William Wright says'. "It is surprising 
also that there should be any hesitation in admitting the 
superiority of goats' milk over cows' milk as a food for infants. 
The casein of goats' milk forms a flocculent and much more 
digestible curd than that of the cow — a very important matter in 
the rearing of infants. The hard curd of cows' milk is responsible 
for a good deal of indigestion and diarrhoea of infants. I feel 
safe in stating that less evil results in this direction would occur 
by the consumption of goats' milk than with cows' milk. The 
nourishment obtained from goats milk is also superior to that 
of cows' milk and is more suitable for infants." — From "The 
Lancet," London, November 3, 1906. 

In this connection also, "The Lancet," May 25, 1907, says 
concerning an analysis of goats' milk made in the laboratory of 
that journal : "There are points about goats' milk in connection 
with infant feeding which deserve more attention than they have 
hitherto received. It is well known, for example, that the goat is 
remarkably resistant to tuberculosis ; moreover, the milk appears 
to be more digestible than cows' milk, because its casein forms 
a flocculent rather than a hard, cheesy curd. It has been stated, 
however, that the unpleasant odor of goats' milk is an unfavorable 
feature. As a matter of fact, goats' milk can be as sweet in this 
regard as cows' milk, so long as the animals are kept under 
clean and proper conditions. A sample of goats milk submitted 
to us was perfectly sweet to the taste and smell, and there was 
no suggestion at all of the so-called goat flavor. The milk repre- 
sented the drawing from a mixed herd which was entirely stall- 
fed, the dry foods given in the winter being replaced by a liberal 
allowance of grass and green stuff in the summer. The animals 
are carefully groomed and their udders washed daily." 

"On analysis the milk gave the following results : Total 
solid matter, 14.57 per cent.; milk sugar, 5.05 per cent.; fat, $5.27 
per cent. ; protein, 3.43 per cent. ; and mineral matter, 0.82 per cent. 

13 



"It will be seen that the milk is of excellent quality, contain- 
ing a maximum proportion of fat." 

Among other advantages in favor of the goat as a dairy 
animal, Dr. J. Finley Bell, in a paper read before the New York 
Academy of Medicine, on "Some Fat Problems and Goat's Milk 
in Infant Feeding,'' claims the following: "She is more docile, 
less excitable, not subject to tuberculosis or other disease in this 
climate. Being a browser rather than a grazer, she will thrive 
where cows would not; and above all, she is cleanly. Her excre- 
ment is solid and her tail short, consequently she is not covered 
with manure as is a cow. It is safe to assert that the production 
of cow's milk free from manure bacteria is commercially impos- 
sible. Not so with the goat ; she can be easily washed (tubbed 
if necessary) and aproned for milking." 




MILKING AT THE FLORA McKEAND GOAT FARM, WILLINK, N. Y. 

The Milch goat is a persistent, regular and economic pro- 
ducer of milk. Foreign writers on the subject agree in saying 
that, "many goats yield ten times their weight of milk annually, 
and exceptional animals as much as eighteen times their weight." 

Petersen, a German authority, says : "In its form, the goat 
exhibits, as it were, the complete type of a milch animal, and by 
demonstration gives annually ten to sixteen times its own weight 
in milk, whereas in the case of the cow we must be well satisfied 
with five times its weight." 

Actual tests made in Germany go to prove that eight goats 
will subsist upon the same amount of feed as that required for 
one cow, and at the same time yield a good flow of milk. 

The yield and the period of lactation of the principal prize 
winners at the Milking Competition for Goats held at the Dairy 
Show, in Agricultural Hall, London, England, on October 8th 
and 9th, 1907, was as follows : Sedgemere Capella, the winner of 

14 



the first prize, after having- been in milk a period of 183 days, 
gave on the first day of the competition slightly over 9 lbs., and 
on the second day 8 lbs. It will be more generally understood 
what this means, when it is stated that 10 lbs. represents one 
gallon. Sedgemere Faith, the second prize winner, after having 
been in milk 189 days, gave on the first day 7.9 lbs., and the next 
day 6.8 lbs. The winner of the third prize, Sedgemere Louise, 
after having been in milk since January nth, 1906, a remarkable 
period of 635 days, gave on the first day 3.3 lbs., and on the 
second day 3.5 lbs. 

An authenticated five days' test of the milking powers of 
Sedgemere Faith, the second prize winner mentioned above, was 
made in 1905 under the direct supervision of the Hon. Secretary 
of the British Goat Society, Mr. H. S. Holmes-Pegler. The goat 
was milked twice daily, and the milk carefully weighed as well 
as measured, in the presence of Mr. Pegler. The quantity pro- 
duced daily was, on an average, 10 lbs., 5 oz., or more than a 
gallon. In the last twenty-four hours during which she was 




SEDGEMERE FAITH, A TYPE OF GOAT FOUND ON THE SWISS ALPS AND IN 
THOSE PORTIONS OF FRANCE ADJACENT THERETO. 

under examination, the yield was 10 lbs., 10% oz., or exactly a 
gallon and half a pint. 

This splendid showing was made after the goat had been in 
milk nearly five months, and the season was just at the close of 
summer, when most goats which have kidded in the spring fall 
off in their yield. 

15 



M. Joseph Crepin, in "La Chevre,"' says that "Alpine gpats 
well cared for can continue in milk without renewing it by a new 
gestation; during two or even three years in succession. Each 
year, however, the milk yield diminishes toward Autumn and is 
reduced one-half during the winter. Toward spring time the milk 
yield increases, so that the goat is capable of giving almost as. 
much as when fresh. 

With regard to the habits and disposition of the female Milch 
goat, much may be said in her favor. With her face and dress 
always neat, she is the tidiest and daintiest eater of the animal 
family. She is very particular about her food and will eat nothing 
that is soiled or tainted. When pastured she delights in picking 
a morsel here and there, changing from grass to the sweet tender 
shoots of weeds and bushes, and nipping off the tender buds and 
leaves of young trees. A grown animal, while browsing, will 
sometimes stand erect and nip a leaf six feet from the ground. 

She is gentle, playful and intelligent, and the readiness with 
which she accommodates herself to any situation in which she 
may be placed is most remarkable. Whether turned loose on a 
common, or out in a yard, or tethered on a grass-plot with a 
"lean-to" for a shelter, or confined in a stable and stall-fed, she 
seems equally content and grateful for the very few favors she 
usually receives. 

While it is true that the ideal locality for goats is one that 
is high and rocky and overgrown with weeds, briars, brush and small 
trees, as they are by nature and preference browsing animals, in 
this respect being an exception to all other domestic stock, it is a 
fact that such a location is not essential. The Milch goat will 
thrive and produce a plentifully supply of rich milk when tethered 
on grass land, in addition to stall-feeding, if comfortably housed 
at night and during bad weather; or even when kept constantly in 
a barn and supplied with all its rations there. 

This adaptability to confinement, together with its produc- 
tiveness, makes the Milch goat particularly valuable to the resi- 
dents of cities and suburban places who desire to secure a regular 
supply of pure, new milk, without being dependent upon the 
milkman, whose "milkman's milk" is not always of the best 
quality and which, under the most favorable circumstances, is 
received and consumed with more or less suspicion as to its 
freshness, its cleanliness and its healthfulness. 

That the Milch goat would supply a long-felt want to dwel- 
lers in villages and country towns where cow's milk is difficult 
to obtain at any time and especially so in winter, needs no argu- 
ment, as it will readily be seen that any one possessing a back- 
yard large enough to contain a shelter in which to house a goat 
or two may have a constant supply of sweet, rich milk for a very 
trifling outlay. 

For with a couple of these hardy and productive little crea- 

16 



tares, "housed In a cheap, roughly constructed shed, and pastured 
on a common, the owner may enjoy greater advantage from an 
■economic and hygienic point of view than does the proud pos- 
sessor of a pampered, pedigreed cow of the most fashionable 
breed. 

First : Because milk, the exclusive diet of many infants., 
•children and invalids, and a most essential item on the daily bill 
of fare of every member of the household, is furnished more 
cheaply by the goat, as the yield of milk, when the size of the 
goat and the amount of feed and care are considered, is propor- 
tionately much greater than that of the cow. 

Second : Because goat's milk is richer, more nutritious and 
more easily digested than cow's milk. Aside from its greater 
degree of richness there is no appreciable difference in appear- 
ance or taste. And, also, because the Milch goat is practically 
immune to tuberculosis, while "the apparently healthful and 
therefore unsuspected cow may be, and often is, dangerously 
tuberculous." 

While most suburban residences have some kind of an out- 
building, which with a little contriving may be made into a 
'comfortable goat-house, still a shed or "lean-to" of the cheapest 
construction will answer the purpose providing it is properly 
ventilated, has plenty of light and is dry and well-drained. Such 
a structure, six feet wide by eight or ten feet long, will comrort- 
ably house two or three goats. If more than one is kept they 
should be securely fastened, each one in its own little stall-, par- 
ticularly when being fed. In a city stable, small stalls, with low 
hay-racks and mangers, to suit the size and height of the animals, 
can be arranged in a corner in such a manner as to take up but 
little space. 

While for back-yard dairying very inexpensive expedients 
may be made to answer, for commercial dairying a properly 
designed and constructed goat barn is a necessity. For it is true 
that, as Thompson says, "no one need expect to obtain a heavy 
flow of milk from does that are compelled to endure all sorts of 
weather. Everybody knows this fact in connection with the 
keeping of dairy cows ; how much more should be demanded 
of a goat? The goat dislikes rain and mud, and will avoid contact 
with either if possible. Cold rains, sleet, and mud are very 
detrimental, to grown goats and are almost sure to cause death 
in the very young kids." 

"The principles that should be observed in constructing a 
goat barn are the same as those governing a dairy barn. The 
matter of ventilation is of special importance ; for there is no 
domestic animal that suffers so much as the goat when it is 
deprived of an abundance of fresh air. There should be plenty 
of light, and the sun should be enabled to shine in." 

The illustration given herewith is reproduced from "Milch 

17 



Goats and Their Management," by Bryan Hook, who describes 
his barn as follows: "I give herewith a plan of one of my 
own houses, the arrangement of which I have found to work 
well. It is designed to provide the greatest amount of accom- 
modation in a limited space, the inside measurement of the house 
being 12 feet square. 




SCCr/O/V 




PL/W 
PLAN AND SECTION OF GOAT BARN (Copied from Bryan Hook) 

"The building is of wood, lined inside, and the intervening 
space packed with straw and shavings ; thus it is seldom that 
frost can effect an entrance, a point of some importance if it is 
desired to obtain milk in winter. There are six 2-foot stalls on 
one side, and on the other three 18-inch stalls, and two loose 
boxes, the latter to be used for goats that are expected to kid or 
for shutting kids away from their dams. 

"The upper part of the loose boxes is made — as are also the 
hayracks — of %-inch iron bars. Down the center of the house is 
a raised path with gutter on each side, so arranged that the liquid 



manure is discharged into a pail, as shown by the direction of 
the arrows. The milking bench is in the open air, but is protected 
from rain by the eaves of the thatched roof. This bench will be 
found a very necessary piece of furniture, for though the animals 
can be milked in their stalls, the operator will be apt to find the 
stooping posture extremely irksome. If this bench, about 18 
inches high, is placed in some convenient situation and fitted with 
a manger in which the goat's ration of corn or meal is placed, she 
will require very little training to mount it willingly the moment 
she is released, and in this position the milking can be done with 
comfort. Even a young goat, that has never been milked before 
will learn in a few days to stand quietly, and my friends have 
often enjoyed a hearty laugh over the alacrity with which each 
in turn scampers round to the milking bench as its chain is 
unfastened." 




DIAGRAM OF THE PIANO-BOX MILKING-SHED. 



A building in which to milk the goats may be cheaply and 
easily made from three upright piano boxes. The piano-box 
milking shed shown in the diagram given herewith was built by 
the writer after considerable planning and contriving. It has 
been found by experience to answer perfectly the purpose for 
which it was designed and constructed, as it furnished a clean, 
airy place in which to milk, and one which was easily kept in a 
sanitary condition, free from dust, flies, and all so-called ''animal 
odors," as the doors, one at either end, and the muslin ventilators 
permit a free current of pure air. 

The art of milking can be acquired by the most unskilled, 
city-bred person by the exercise of patience and perseverance ; 
patience on the part of the goats and perseverance on the part of 
the milker. While it naturally requires practice to become an 
adept, the directions given by Pegler, in "The Book of the Goat," 
will be found of great assistance in acquiring the "gentle art." 

Milch goats should be fed four times a day when in milk, 
and three times a day the rest of the year. When stall-fed their 
chief article of diet is hay, clover preferred, supplemented by 

19 



bran, oats and clean kitchen leavings, such as stale bread, apple 
and potato peelings, carrot, beet and celery tops, pea-pods, etc. 
They should be given only as much hay or grain as they will eat 
at one feeding; this amount is easily learned by experience and 
observation. The hay should be fed from little racks, above each 




GOAT STALLS (Copied from Bryan Hook) 

small manger, with bars or slats sufficiently close together to 
prevent them from pulling down more than a mouthful at a 
time. In order to keep goats economically, this is important, as 
these fastidious and wasteful little creatures will not eat anything 
that has been trodden under foot or soiled in any manner. When 
obtainable it will be found advisable to furnish them with brush- 
wood and tree trimmings in order to indulge them in their deer- 
like propensity for browsing and bark-peeling. 

A yard, well drained and with a hard surface, should be 
connected with the barn, where the animals may get air and 
exercise during the day, if they do not have the run of a pasture. 
It is also a good plan to have an open shed in the goat yard, 
where the animals may go for protection from storms or the 
heat of the sun. 

Where goats have access to a pasture having gravelly or 
rocky soil, their hoofs will be kept worn down by natural pro- 
cess ; but where they are confined in barns and small inclosures, 
the hoofs will grow too long, and will interfere to a large extent 
with the movement of the animals. In this shape the hoofs will 
catch and hold a considerable amount of dirt, which is difficult 

20 



to remove, and which is liable to make the parts sore and more 
subject to foot-rot than when the hoof is clean and in »ood con- 
dition. It is not difficult, however, to keep the hoofs properly 
pared with a sharp knife or clippers. 

It is also most essential to the health and well-being of goats 
which are kept closely confined that they be thoroughly and 
frequently groomed. This will keep both hair and skin of the 
animals perfectly clean and free from all manner of parasites. 




GROOMING A MILCH GOAT, USING A COMMON FIBER 
SCRUBBING-BRUSH FOR THE PURPOSE. 



The fancier who cares for and milks his goats himself will 
soon find that an hour or two a day thus spent will prove a very 
pleasant and satisfying occupation. The care of these "little 
giant milk producers," so aptly described by Hook as "the most 
intelligent, the most engaging, and most picturesque of domestic 
cattle," opens an inviting recreation or occupation, not only to 
men, but to women and even to children, commending itself 
especially to those whose health requires some light form of out- 
door work, either as a vocation or an avocation. A great advant- 
age, from an economic point of view, is that it requires but a 

21 



small outlay to establish or to maintain a small goat dairy. In 
fact, there are few undertakings which can be commenced on so 
small a scale that can be made to pay so well, both in pleasure 
and profit. 

The goat-keeper will invariably find a ready market for what- 
ever milk is not needed in his own household, as physicians are 
prescribing it more and more, whenever obtainable, as an ideal 
nutrient for infants or invalids. Sold for this purpose, and in 
this way, goat's milk does not enter into competition with cow's 
milk at all, and readily brings from forty to sixty cents per quart. 

With regard to the feed, the methods of feeding, the interior 
arrangement of the goat-shed or barn and the care of the goats in 
general, it will be found advisable for the amateur fancier to 
follow, so far as possible, the practice advocated by Crepin, the 
French, Pegler and Hook, the English, or Dettweiler and 
Schneider, the German, authorities. Naturally each goat-keeper 
should adopt such of these authors' methods as are best suited to his 
own environment. 

At the present time, those who wish to establish a small 
home dairy are obliged to depend almost entirely upon the native 
goat, for owing to the limited number of pure-bred Milch goats 
in this country, and as unfortunately Milch goat breeding is not 
yet an established industry, it will be a long time before the 
supply of either pure-bred or grade does equals the demand. 

Considerable advantage may be derived by keeping two 
goats instead of one, the amount of time and trouble required 
being very little greater, whereas the results derived are more 
than double. The best plan is to begin by purchasing one that 
has just kidded, and when that one is becoming dry, to procure 
another just about to kid. By this means a regular supply of 
"certified" milk may be had the year round. 

Pegler in his "Book of the Goat" gives the following useful 
advice to intending purchasers : 

"In buying a goat, as in buying a horse, some knowledge and 
judgment are absolutely necessary to prevent one's being de- 
frauded. Regarding the quantity of milk the goat is said to give, 
it is best not to take for granted that "she gives two quarts a 
day," but rather let the intending purchaser see the goat milked 
twice, if possible, before buying the animal ; there will be then 
no doubt about the quantity given." 

"A goat that yields less than a quart a day is not considered 
a good milker ; if she yields two quarts a day she may be regarded 
as profitable, provided the yield is maintained for six or seven 
months. A doe yielding three pints a day with her first kid need 
not be set aside as an indifferent animal, as she will, in all prob- 
ability, give twice that quantity on subsequent occasions." 

There are certain points by which a good milch goat may 
generally be recognized, the principal feature being the shape of 

22 



the body, the udder and the teats. The intending purchaser 
should look for a goat with a large, deep body with ribs well 
rounded, affording plenty of room for a big stomach. A heavy 
milker is generally wider and deeper at the hind-quarters than at 
the chest, with meagre body and protruding hip-bones. Thinness 
is no drawback if the animal is a good feeder. The udder should 
be large, thin in substance, soft and elastic to the touch. When 
quite full it will be greatly distended, but after milking it should 
shrink up to a very much smaller size. A goat which has a large 
udder when in milk, will exhibit very little when dry. When in 
good health milch goats carry their heads erect, their eyes are 
bright and sparkling, with a cheerful, inquisitive and intelligent 
expression ; the nose is dry, nostrils moist, and mouth and gums 
a bright red, and the breath is sweet. 

With the aid of the accompanying illustration from "Milch 
Goats and Their Management," the age of a goat, until after it 
is 4 years old, may be readily determined. During the first year 
a kid's teeth are small and even and sometimes separated, as 
shown in the cut; the second year the two front teeth are much 




F/FTH Y£X/? 



larger and higher; the third year two more large front teeth are 
added ; the fouth year two more ; and the fifth year two additional 
large teeth, which completes the set. 

Common goats, which are fairly good animals, may, with a 
little persistent search, occasionally be found in the outskirts of 
our cities or towns, generally in the sections inhabited by our 
foreign population, where flocks of from three or four to a dozen 
goats may quite frequently be seen running at large in vacant 
lots or on the commons. 

The fall of the year is the best time to buy, when free pastur- 
age becomes scarce. Then owners are generally willing to part 
with even their best goats at reasonable prices, rather than feed 

23 



and house them through the winter, when provender is high and 
stabling facilities often inadequate. 

Good native goats usually cost from two to twenty dollars. 
Prices vary in different localities. Pure-bred and imported Swiss 
goats are quoted at from $25 to $50 per head for kids under one 
year, and from $35 to $100, and even more, for yearlings and 
older. They are exceedingly difficult to obtain even at these 
prices. 

It is much to be regretted- that, while the experts of the 
U. S. Department of Agriculture have been for years engaged in 
working out many other important problems in plant and animal 
breeding, apparently the goat has been considered of so little 
value that no systematic or practical investigations have been 
made along scientific lines, with a view toward determining 
which of the foreign breeds of Milch goats are best suited to our 
needs ; nor regarding the development of native breeds of "deep 
milking" goats ; nor with reference to the improvement of our 
Common goats, by increasing the size and quality of the short- 
haired varieties, and thus making them more valuable for their 
flesh and for their skins, and as foundation stock for grade 
Angoras and Milch goats. 

So far as attempting to overcome the ignorance and prejudice 
regarding the goat by any organized or systematic effort toward 
educating the public with reference to the economic, dietary and 
sanitary value of the animal we are far behind other civilized 
countries. 

Considering, however, the fact that during the five fiscal 
years ending June 30th, 1910, goat-skins to the value of $137,404,- 
900 were bought by the United States from other countries, as 
practically none were produced in this country, is not here, alone, 
an "infant industry" well worth "investigating" and "fostering"? 



24 



ADVERTISING 



Imported Swiss Toggenburg Doe "Fanette" in milking 
stand. Registry No. 151 A. M. G. R. A. "Fanette" made 
grand record on pasture-feed of 1 709 lbs. milk in one season. 

Weight of "Fanette" 136 lbs. 
Owned by WINTHROP HOWLAND 



The largest herd of thoroughbred Toggenburgs in the 
United States. Headquarters for Milch Goats on the Pacific 
Coast. 

Herd headed by the famous imported Toggenburg Buck 
Prince Bismarck ", probably by far the most valuable Swiss 
Stud in the United States. Valued at $500.00. 

Prince Bismarck" is in a class by himself as a sire, and 
his kids are in great demand by breeders who know his superior 
qualities. 

Inclose stamp for prompt reply. 

For the finest of registered thoroughbred Swiss Toggenburg 
Milch Goats, apply to 

WINTHROP HOWLAND 

Member American Milch Goat Record Association 

P. O. Box 564 
RANCHO EL CHIVAR REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA 

REFERENCES : Redlands' Board of Trade — First National Bank of Redlands. 
=^====^ Please mention this Booklet ■ 



ADVERTISING 



I MILCH GOATS 



BRED and FOR SALE 



BY 



\ M. A. MILLER 

DAYTON, - - - IOWA 



Our herd is headed by a 
pure-bred, registered 

Swiss Toggenburg 

stud Goat. 

We also own Jerry D, No. 208 

A pure Toggenburg 3 -years old. 

SHIPPING — East and West on C. & N. W. R. R. 

North and South on M. & S. L. R. R. HI 

Address all correspondence to ul 

M. A. MILLER I 



Webster Co., 

I P. O. Box, 1 1 7 DAYTON, IOWA 



m\ 



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ADVERTISING 



WE MAKE A SPECIALTY OF "PURE 

SAANEN SWISS GOATS 



THE LARGEST OF ALL THE MILCH BREEDS 

AND THE KIND THAT BRINGS THE HIGH- 
EST PRICE IN SWITZERLAND. OUR 
MATURE DOES YIELD FROM FOUR 
TO SEVEN QUARTS DAILY. 

We recently sold a fine Buck to the United States 

Government, after their representative had 

inspected various other herds. 

WE AIM TO (pROTtUCE THE VERY BEST 
MRS. A. W. LEE 



Station B. 



Toledo, Ohio 



I have the finest Saanen Billy 
in America. I stand him at 
ten dollars ($1 0.00) with care 
of Nan while here. Good 
half Saanen and half Amer- 
can Milk Goats for sale. 
Prices reasonable. Also any 
one interested in the Goat 
business on a large scale 
write with stamp for import- 
ant information concerning 
same. Also any one inter- 
ested in a Sunny Southern 
Home with the greatest of 
opportunities, should not fail 
to correspond with me at 
once, enclosing stamp for re- 
ply. Yours for better things. 

C. SUMNER EMERY 

PRESIDENT C. H. CO. 
I 337 Dorr St. Toledo, Ohio 



TOGGENBURG 

and 

ANGORA 
GOATS 



PURE AND GRADE 
STOCK FOR SALE 



MRS. C. B. DREYER 

Wantagh Long Island 



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DEC 12 1911 



ADVERTISING 



SWISS -TOGGENBURGS 



PURE- BRED BUCKS AND 
GRADE DOES FOR SALE 



LAWTON AND JOHNCK 

MEADOWDALE, WASHINGTON 



Swiss Toggenburs; 
Milch Goats 

ORDERS BOOKED FOR SPRING 
KIDS, PURE-BRED AND GRADES 



MISS H. A. WOOD 

Swiss Qoat Daiiy 
Pasadena California 



Swiss and Spanish 

BREEDS OF MILCH GOATS, 

BRED FOR MILK 

PRODUCTION 

tJXTilch Qoat Dairies in Colorado & Kansas 
WRITE TO 

G. H. WICKERSHAM 

1240 St. Francis Ave. Wichita, Kansas 



pure bred RUSSIAN MILK GOATS 

Rich £%Cili\ for Babies, Sickly People and Family Use 



GEORGE McGUIRE 



West Pullman 



III, 




The Wakefield Co. 

A dvertising and Publishing 

Designing, illustrating, printing and cuts 
made from your photographs. If in 
need of circulars, catalogues, stationary 
or cuts let US estimate on the job. 

ONLY HIGH-CLASS WORK 
REASONABLE PRICES 

142 Wakefield Ave. 

BUFFALO, N. Y. 

GOODS SHIPPED ANYWHERE 

= Please mention this Booklet = 




ADVERTISING 



THE RUGBY LAND CO. 

Offers for sale Coal, Timber and Farming Lands on the 
Cumberland Plateau, in Morgan, Fentress and Scott 
Counties, Tennessee. As the greater part of this land is 
timbered, and furnishes fine, free, well watered range, 
with an abundance of acorn and chestnut "mast" it 
affords an ideal location for Goat Ranching. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION APPLY TO 

W. T. WALTON 

RUGBY TENNESSEE 



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One copy del. to Cat. Div. 
DEC 12 W- 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 847 637 1 



